The Debate of Ideas Within Islam

The Future of Islam Keys The Debate of Ideas within Islam The Future Islam of The Abdelmajid Charfi official corpus. Moreover, the new religion could not President simply erase ancient ideas and convictions held in Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and the Hijazi milieu of the early 7th century of the cur- Arts Beit Al-Hikma, Tunis rent era, as with the wave of a magic wand.2 De- bates of ideas were at times heated and often re- quired the intervention and arbitration of the Before dealing with this subject, it would be appro- Prophet. The Hadiths (prophetic traditions) amply priate to recall two fundamental truths often ignored attest to this, even if they were only recorded much or hidden by todays’ profuse literature on Islam. First later and reflect the concerns of later generations in of all: it is illusory to separate ideas and culture in more than one instance. general, and religious doctrines in particular, from After the death of the Prophet, what could be more their general conditions of emergence and develop- natural than the first generation of Muslims, that of ment; otherwise, one would fall into an essentialism his Companions, discussing problems that had not 70 categorically rejected by human sciences and soci- been posed during the time when the answers and ety as admitted today by the scientific community. solutions had an incontestable prophetic authority? This is one of the main lessons taught by modern But the real debates took place above all among the historiography. Secondly: the notion of Islam is used following generation, which had grown in number as a catch-all for dogma, ritual, practices and cul- due to conquests and the conversion of many non- ture indiscriminately, as if it were a rigid monolithic Arabic peoples, when they were attempting to qual- phenomenon emerging all at once, having experi- ify the positions of the great Companions who had enced neither evolution, nor indecision, nor distor- been killing one another in the struggle for power. tions under the effects of historic and geographic Could they all have erred, or were some right and factors.1 This means we need to know what we others wrong? Were they acting on their own, or mean every time we refer to Islam in its diversity of were they predestined to take antagonistic posi- manifestations. tions? These were questions with practical repercussions for the experiences of Muslims, but that also served as a foundation for subsequent Muslim Historic Debates theology. Despite the relatively modest degree of theoretical 2017 This being the case, a brief review of historical con- production over the course of the Umayyad Cali- text is in order. Since the time of the revelation of the phate, overthrown in 132/750 by the Abbasids, it Koran, its reception has given rise to questions and must be noted that certain figures, such as Jahm b. controversy, the traces of which can be noted in the Safwan (d. 746), so reviled by official Umayyad ideol- 1 In this regard, see the 18 titles we have edited, published by Dar al-Tali’a (Beirut, 2006 – 2010) in Arabic on “Islam: One and Multiple” (al- Islam wahidan wa muta’addidan). 2 Mediterranean Yearbook Jacqueline Chabbi’s supposedly anthropological approach (cf. in particular her latest book: Les trois piliers de l’islam, Paris: Seuil 2016) is unfortunately reductionist. The tribal context, with its intrinsic values, is important, but contrary to what she asserts without evidence, it is Med. Med. inconceivable that the religious ideas debated throughout the Middle East region were ignored and had no effect on the Hijazi mindset in the IE times of Muhammed. ogy and afterwards by the Sunnis, were against of- sors, were known for their encouragement of ration- ficial doctrine, which would have one believe that, if alism and translation of the works of Greek, Iranian Keys governors did not display irreproachable behaviour, and even Hindu philosophers and scholars. At the they were acting, not of their own accord, but in ap- opposite pole, particularly after the about-face by al- plication of a divine decision that subjects had to Mutawakkil (847-861), against the Mu’tazilites, were obey. The first rationalist theologians (the Mu’tazila) the advocates of literalism, enemies of foreign cul- were, moreover, concerned first and foremost with ture in all strictly religious disciplines, supported by this issue, with its obvious practical repercussions. people in high places and above all the illiterate Among other things, debate revolved around the lim- masses, and always dragging down thought relating its of human liberty and predestination, namely be- to religion. cause the two notions exist in the Koran and the bal- Moreover, the Abbasids had another concern di- Future Islam of The ance of the interpretation of the sacred text had to rectly associated with the organization of social life. be tipped towards one of the two. Certain theologi- They effectively attempted to promulgate a single ans, favouring predestination, wished to safeguard legal code valid for the entire empire, but the oppo- the transcendence of God, his omnipotence and sition of legal scholars was so strong that they de- omniscience. Others leaned more towards divine sisted from unifying the law, allowing each region justice, which could not be applied unless humans and each legal school the liberty of issuing legal were free and responsible for their acts, God being opinions (fatwa), thus tolerating that jurisdiction unable to compel people to do wrong and then pun- could change from one geographic and jurispru- ish them for these reprehensible actions. dential context to another. In this regard, debates Other related problems were likewise posed, par- and divergences never ceased, sometimes going as ticularly concerning harm coming to the innocent, far as exclusion and enmity. such as children or the infirm. How could its exist- Nonetheless, though legal scholars were often in ence be explained in relation to God’s goodness, disagreement on minor subjects, and sometimes recognized by all Muslims? How could it be justified also on matters of extreme gravity relative to life and 71 according to our human criteria? What is the nature death or the physical integrity of those concerned of retribution in the wake of acts and situations be- due to their beliefs, they were unanimous in believ- yond human control and which people may experi- ing that the five fiqh legal ruling categories (Ahkam)3 ence as fundamentally unfair? Debates on such were applicable to all human acts without excep- matters and many others, such as those regarding tion. In other words, the legal scholars established a the status of the Koran, created – and thus different straitjacket from which no Muslim could, in theory, from God and temporal – or not created – and thus escape. This is precisely what was contested by the consubstantial with God, atemporal and eternal – first mystics (Sufis) of Islam, who felt hemmed in by and the authority lent to the Tradition of the Prophet these rigid rules, applicable in the sphere of wor- (Sunna) recorded in the Hadith from the Sunni point ship as well as that of transactions. In this regard, of view, or carnally pursued, so to speak, by the intense debate arose, even leading to momentous imams born of his daughter, from the Shiite view- trials, as was the case with Hallaj (d. 922) in the point, all of these debates raged on, dividing the in- 4th/10th century. The mystics rejected the literalist tellectuals of the time into schools, clans and sects. reading of the Koran advocated by the legal schol- At the outset, Abbasid political power did not have ars, favouring an esoteric reading and a more spir- 2017 a single, definitive stance on these issues. Or rather, itual, more individualist approach, far removed from there were contradictory tendencies within the very legalism. circles of power favouring the advocates of different The debates around these issues and an infinity of positions that ended up becoming irreconcilable. others relative to any subject raised by beliefs, cul- Senior Barmakid officials, followed by Caliph al- ture, reflection and speculation took place at the Ma’mun (813-833) and his two immediate succes- Caliphs’ courts and in circles of power and of intel- Mediterranean Yearbook 3 Recall that the five categories of legal rulings are: 1) mandatory, wajib, 2) recommended, mustahabb, 3) neutral, mubah, all three in the Med. category of licit or halal, followed by 4) reprehensible, makruh, and 5) prohibited, mahzur, which is illicit, haram. IE lectuals, such as at mosques or at the madrasa (the- lowed by the French occupation of Algeria, then the Keys ological institutes). The work of Tawhidi (d. 1023) protectorates imposed on Tunisia and Egypt, gave provides an example of this discussion activity in rise to a movement called the Nahdha (Renais- Baghdad in the 4th/10th century, where Christian sance), initiated by Syrian-Lebanese authors, par- and Jewish philosophers participated in high-quality ticularly Christians, and followed by intellectuals debates. Other metropoles in the Mashreq and and governors aware of their societies’ need to Maghreb were not lagging, not to mention the prolif- catch up. Under the circumstances, religious eration of ideas and controversies of all manner in thought could not but be affected by the question- Al-Andalus until the late 6th/12th century. ing of all phenomena considered a cause of this backwardness. The Future Islam of The Hence a debate opened up, limited at first to restrict- The mystics rejected the literalist ed circles, then increasingly spreading out, regard- reading of the Koran advocated by ing the manner of conceiving of dogma and practices considered the most faithful to the spirit of Islam the legal scholars, favouring an and its founding texts.

Load more